Nevada County picayune., 1887-06-22
Fermented, Distilled and Malt
 Liquors.

IHe IOIlOWluS esSdg lodu py t Ne, ada county boy, in Ouachita College, took gold medal. Editor PICAYUNE.
 Strong drinks are of three kinds, fermented. distilled and malt. Wine which is fermented liquor, has been in use from time almost inn memorial. It Is manufactured from the grape, or similar fruit, ami contains from seven to twenty per cent alcohol. Beer, ale and porter are the most common malt liquors. These liquors are manu- factured from grain. The grain IS kept moist until it has sprouted; after this it is dried and ground then 1t is ready for brewing. It is then cooked for several hours in water, and from this liquid beer or ale is made. Beer contains from two to five per cent alcohol, and ale still larger per cent Dis tiled liquors were not used until about the 12th century, as the art of distillation was not discovered till that time. Distilled liquors are made by distilling various ferment. ed liquors. Brandy is made from wine; whisky from malt liquors of all kinds, and rum from fermented molasses. These liquors contain from forty to sixty per cent alec hol. Thus we see alcoholic drinks of some kind have been used by men of all ages. and from it's use we have learned a lesson we shall not soon forget, for we are gather ing the harvest sown by our fore fathers, and to our sad regret 1t is a harvest of drunkardS, harvest of insanity, crime, wickedness, and pauperiSm. The curse has greatly increased in our day, for the Iiq- uOrs of to-day are stronger. more adulterated, and more poisonous than were the drinks of the an cients. Wine was their strongest daink and it contained about fifteen per cent alcohol, and as they knew nothing of the adulteratlons of the present day, their wines Were not so poisonous as ours, and besides, it was largely used by them in their worship, but with us it is used to satisfy a depraved appetite, to drown sorrow, and to excite the feelings and passions, to commit the most heinous crimes and wick ed deeds. The fruit of the vine has proven to be a great curse to mankind; indeed, it is believed by the Jews that thls was the forbid den fruit, and the Jews are not alone in thIs belief, for there are also many others who hold to this opinion. And 1t Is also believed by many. both Jew and Gentle, that the flood was punishment for excessive drunkenness, and they give as a proof of this, the passage of scripture foundin Matt, 24: 3S, 8. If this punishment was brought upon the Antediluvians for drunkenness, what will our punishment be!
 Almost all liquors of to-day are greatly adulterated, and many of these adultefatiOns are poisOns, for among them we find strychnine, sugar of lead, sulphuric acid, oil of clove, lead, tobacco, and in fact, everything to increase the amount aud suit the taste of the topper. Dr. Riant gives recipe for making rum of newly scraped leather, oak bark, oil of clOve, tar, and molas' ses alcohol. Snch recipes are of ten used in making the finest (?) of liquors, and thousands, annually, fill a drunkard's grave by the use of such drinks as this. Rhenish wine, which is considered very fine, is adulterated with sub' stance manufactured from pota toes. Sherry is adulterated with Plaster O. Paris and sulphurlc acid. Water and salt are the chief adul' terations in making beer, as a sub' stitute for hops aloe, quassla, buckbean, etc, are used, and as a substitute for alcohol the indlcus berry is used, which is well known poison, being sometimes used to kill fish and birds. Sul- phate of iron gives it the bitter taste so much loved by beer drink CTS. And all other liquors manu- factured for sale are adulterated with poisons equally injurious to the system as these. Some of the frequent ills caused by the use of these aoulterated liquors are con stricton of the throat, pains in the stomach, convulsions, and that aw- ful and horrible result of continu- ed drunkenness called delirium tremens. The continued use Of these adulterated and poisonous liquors is the cause of these and many other diseases, and is the di, rect means of bringing many youth and middle-aged man to a premature grave. Why is the longevity of the human race at the present day so short! Men of old en time lived to be from two hun dred to six hundred years of age. but at the present day they rarely exceed one hundred, and the aver age age of man does not exceed fifty. These startling facts have originated the question, why this great decrease of mortality? But this nuaStion has hanu correctly